A month ago today, Roy Corcoran stood at the altar with his soon-to-be wife Lacy and sweated through his wedding like a real man.
His palms were wet, his legs ached and his mind raced.
“I remember thinking I would rather be pitching against the Yankees,” he said. “I’m dead serious. My legs were killing me and it felt like it lasted forever. But it was a really good feeling and it turned out beautiful.”
Less than a month from now, Corcoran will report to spring training with the Seattle Mariners, not only as a newly married man but also as a pitcher with a chance to play a big role on the 2009 team.
Corcoran, 6-2 with a team-best 3.22 earned run average in 50 relief appearances last year, took the ball in every situation — long relief, setup and even closing.
He says he’ll gladly pitch in any role again in 2009, although he knows the closer job is open and he wants to fill it.
“Every guy in the bullpen who has pitched late in games and been in those kinds of situations, they love it,” Corcoran said from his home in Slaughter, La. “A lot of people would love the opportunity to get that job and I would be one of them. It would be an experience for me. But they pay me to go in there and pitch regardless of when it is. I try to show up every day and give it everything I can.”
Spring training could be a six-week audition for the closer job among up to a half-dozen pitchers — Mark Lowe, Aaron Heilman, Tyler Walker, Miguel Batista, Brandon Morrow and, of course, Corcoran.
Corcoran doesn’t have the prototypical closer build like the lanky 6-3 Lowe or the defensive end-like Walker, who’s 6-3 and 262 pounds. Corcoran is only 5-10 and 170, but he makes up for his lack of girth with a lot of guts.
“Ever since high school I’ve always been close to the smallest guy on the team,” he said. “If you’re that kid of person, you’ve got to have something about you. I’ve always carried myself with the approach that I’m going to get this job done. I feel like I can go out there and get anybody out, and when I don’t tomorrow, there’s another day.”
Nobody appreciates that approach more than the Mariners’ former closer, J.J. Putz.
“He is probably the one guy who’s got the mental frame of mind for it,” said Putz, who the Mariners traded to the Mets this offseason. “He reminds me of a right-handed Eddie Guardado. Eddie got things done on heart and adrenaline and confidence. That’s how Corky pitches.”
Corcoran recorded his first major league save Aug. 26 last year and finished the season with two others, but he has 82 minor league saves since he turned pro in 2001.
He spoke briefly with new Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair this offseason, but they didn’t discuss the closer role.
“We talked about hunting a little bit,” Corcoran said. “Mostly, we just chit-chatted.”
There’s no doubt he would love to close.
“I’ve been closing all my minor league career,” he said. “There’s an energy in that ninth inning and the adrenaline is running through you. You’ve got to be able to calm things down and get the job done.”
If only that approach would have worked at the altar, where a nervous Corcoran stood with his bride. They were married Dec. 19 in Slaughter, a town of about 1,000 in central Louisiana where both he and Lacy grew up.
“I’ve known her family all my life but, believe it or not, our paths never crossed,” he said. “I never met her until two or three years ago.”
Marriage has brought all kinds of changes to Corcoran’s offseason.
He’s gone hunting and fishing only a couple of times, having spent most of his time preparing for the wedding and sprucing up the home he bought on 61/2 acres in Slaughter.
“That dadgum wedding and buying a house took up all my time,” he said. “It’s an unfinished house, so I’m doing a lot of work — mostly the trim and a little bit of electric work.
“Me and my wife just got done painting the kitchen cabinets, and oh what a mess that was. We had cabinet doors everywhere.”
Why not hire someone to finish the house, especially after making big-league money most of last year?
“I could have done that, but I like the idea of finishing something myself,” Corcoran said. “There’s more satisfaction knowing you completed something yourself and did a good job at it.”
He hopes his next finishing project is the ninth inning for the Mariners this year.
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
